House of Illusions

This is a sequel to House of Dreams which is one of my favourite books based in Ancient Egypt. I love the author, Pauline Gedge, who I found out recently also lives in my province. This story returns to Thu, the heroine from the first story, and the chance meeting she has with her lost (now grown) son, Kamen, after 17 years apart. I can't say more because that would spoil what happened in the first novel. Ms. Gedge is always able to write convincingly and with acute historical detail about the life in Ancient Egypt. You really can feel the culture and beliefs spring up from the page. She is also able to write realistic and engrossing characters and this novel is no exception. Thu is wily and proud and time has only hardened her will to show more better her lowborn situation. I will say that I only liked this book and wouldn't fawn over it like I did for House of Dreams. It was a satisfying conclusion of the fate of Thu but it was not an amazing one. show less

The sequel to House of Dreams begins nearly seventeen years later when a chance encounter with a young soldier gives Thu a chance at vindication.

I enjoyed this quite a bit, though it wasn't as breathtaking as the previous volume. It's a quieter book in some ways; the tension was always quite high in House of Dreams as Thu struggled to fuel her ambition and please those who'd raised her up to such heights, but here things flow much more smoothly. There aren't as many hitches in the story; at times it felt a little like a boulder rushing down a hill, taking out everything in its path. Once things got going, it seemed that there was little that could stand between Thu and her goals.

The book makes use of three viewpoints: that of Kamen, the show more young soldier who encounters Thu at Aswat; Kaha, a scribe who aided in the conspiracy that was Thu's downfall; and Thu herself. While each narrator was appropriate to the part of the story that he or she related, I think I would've preferred to hear more directly from Thu. I missed her during the first portion of the book.

Overall, though, this was a satisfying end to Thu's story. While some elements may have been overly sentimental, (and, perhaps, a little far-fetched), I was pleased with them nonetheless. It was nice to see Thu finally find some happiness, and I enjoyed returning to the ancient Egypt Gedge developed in the first book. show less

A brilliant sequel to House of Dreams, marred by one (to this reader, if not to all) very unsatisfying plot twist.

I cannot get enough of her historical fiction based in Egypt.

Juanto al pueblo de Asutat, en el templo de Uepuauet, una hermosa mujer prematuramente envejecida por la demencia no cesa de suplicar a los soldados que pasan por allí que entreguen al faraón un manuscrito de vital importancia. Conmovido por la escena, Kamen, un joven de familia noble que acaba de ingresar en el ejército, accede a llevar el papiro a su superior, el general Paiis.